Food trays for holding and heating a food product are well known. One type in common use has a single compartment. When a pasta or other low value product is heated for consumption in the single compartment, any sauce, which may contain meat and or vegetables, is layered on top or beside of the low value product. Heating of the food arranged in this manner causes the flavours to blend and textures to deteriorate. Another food tray has two compartments, one beside the other. Heating does not cause blending of flavour, but having to spoon sauce from one compartment to another for consumption by the customer is inconvenient.
In another food tray available in Europe from InterFrost GmbH, a smaller paperboard tray is nested snugly within a larger paperboard tray. The two trays fit tightly together. Sauce may be placed in the smaller tray, and pasta or rice in the larger tray. Upon heating of the InterFrost food tray, steam may build up in the lower tray, and may be released suddenly when the smaller tray is removed from the larger tray. In addition, due to the close tight fit of the smaller tray in the larger tray, the smaller tray tends to stick in the larger tray, and pulling on the smaller tray can result in a sudden release of the smaller tray, causing a risk of spilling hot food product from the smaller tray. The steam and heat generated from the lower tray may cause the upper tray to deconstruct, which increases the probability of spillage. Risk of steam release and hot food spill makes the food tray somewhat of a hazard to use.